WELCOME HOMEAfter more then a seven-month layover, the Dartmouth women’s hockey team returns to Thompson Arena, hosting Princeton and Quinnipiac in ECAC Hockey action this weekend. For the second straight season, the Big Green open conference play versus the Tigers and Bobcats. Last season, the Green and White were 7-2-4 in the Upper Valley, earning a point in 10 of their final 11 home contests. A year ago, Dartmouth swept a weekend of play in Hanover against Princeton and Quinnipiac, 6-2 and 5-2, respectively.

LAST TIME OUTThe Big Green fell 7-2 to No. 2 Boston College in the season opener last Sunday. Dartmouth got on the board first as sophomore Lindsey Allen converted a pass from classmate Laura Stacey just over one minute into the tilt. On the goal, freshman Eleni Tebano notched her first collegiate point, picking up the second assist. After Boston College tied the game early in the second, Allen gave the Green the lead once again, netting a power-play marker. The Eagles came storming back scoring six unanswered goals to skate away with the victory.

HUDAK’S HISTORYUnder head coach Mark Hudak, Dartmouth has played in the conference tournament nine times, won the league title twice and played in the championship game three times. The 11th year coach has led the team to the NCAA tournament six times, advancing to the Frozen Four twice. The last two seasons, the team has exited the conference postseason tournament in the first round.

RANK AND FILEHeading into the game with No. 9 Quinnipiac, the Big Green are still in search of their first win against a ranked opponent in nearly two years. They were 0-7-3 when facing top-10 programs in 2012-13 and are 0-1 this season. The team’s last win against a nationally-ranked foe was on Nov. 26, of 2011 as they topped No.10 Northeastern, 4-3, in overtime at home.

YOUTH MOVEMENTDartmouth lost four-of-the-top-five leading scorers from last season to graduation and looks to a strong core of freshmen to pick up where the Class of 2016 left off. The youthful Big Green go from having eight players with at least 100 games under their belt last season to zero this season. Of the 20 players on the roster, 13 are underclassmen, as senior co-captain Ali Winkel and Lindsay Holdcroft look to lead the team through the ups and downs of ECAC Hockey and Ivy League play. The offense has to fill the void left by the Class of 2013 as last year’s seniors accounted for 48 of the team’s 84 goals (57.1%).

SUPER SOPHOMORESThe Green and White boast a strong core of second-year players led by Laura Stacey. Through the first 29 games of her collegiate career the Kleinburg, Ontario, native has eight tallies and a team-leading 15 assists. Stacey had five multi-point games as a freshman and she was the top-scoring freshman in Ivy League games. Her 22 points were the most for a first-year player for the Big Green since Camille Dumais in 2009. In fact, Stacey’s 23 points are the most in a career of any player on the roster. Another sophomore looking to produce is Lindsey Allen. The Toronto, Ontario, native ranked fourth on the team in goals (7), fifth in points (17) and was tied for third with two game-winning tallies. She also played a big part on the power-play unit, netting three goals and setting up two others.

HOLDING DOWN THE FORTLindsay Holdcroft played well between the pipes for the Green and White during her junior campaign, picking up four shutouts with a goals-against average of 2.11 and a save percentage of .914 with a record of 15-9-5. The Pittsburgh, Pa., native is climbing up the career record books for Dartmouth, as she currently ranks in the top-five all-time in wins (47), saves (1,842), goals-against average (2.12) and save percentage (.914).

WITH THE MAN-ADVANTAGEDartmouth’s power play broke out in the finale against St. Lawrence. The Big Green converted four of their seven man-advantage opportunities. The Green and White have now scored power-play goals in four of their last seven games dating back to last season. The productive play with man-up opportunities continued for Dartmouth against Boston College as the team converted one of its three chances.

KILLIN’ ITLast season, the Green and White’s penalty killers ended on a strong run, killing 10-of-15 penalties over the final four contests. They killed off 58-of-65 power-play chances over the last 14 games. The special teams ranked third in ECAC Hockey, killing 87.9% of opponents’ man-advantage opportunities in 2012-13. They were also the fourth-most penalized team in the league with 320 penalty minutes through 31 games. In the opener, the Big Green killed all three of BC’s power-play chances.

FIRST 40 MINUTESThe key for the Big Green is to hold a lead after 40 minutes of play. When leading through two periods a year ago, the Green and White were 15-0-1. RPI was the only team all year to battle back from a second-period deficit against the Green and White to earn a point. On the other hand, when trailing after two periods Dartmouth was 0-5-1. When the team was tied after two periods they were 1-2-4. The Big Green haven’t won when trailing after two periods since Feb. 27, 2011, when they rallied to beat Clarkson, 4-3, in overtime. This year, Dartmouth is 0-1 when trailing after two periods.

600 & COUNTINGLast season’s 7-2 senior-day victory over St. Lawrence on Feb. 23 2013, was the 600th in program history. In their 37th season, the Dartmouth women’s hockey team has averaged more than 16 wins a year since its inception as Hudak has been at the helm for 196 of those triumphs.

SCOUTING THE TIGERSFriday’s contest with Big Green is the season opener for Princeton. In the preseason, the Tigers lost 4-2 to McGill and topped Brown 2-1 in a scrimmage. The Tigers will look for some new goal scorers on offense as they lost their top-two point producers to graduation. Kimberly Newell returns between the pipes for Princeton and looks to build on her successful freshman campaign, The top returning goal scorer from last year is junior Brianna Leahy, who had nine tallies in 2012-13.

LAST MEETING WITH PRINCETONThe Big Green swept the season series with the Tigers a year ago, outscoring Princeton, 9-3. Dartmouth topped Princeton, 6-2 at Thompson Arena on Jan. 12, 2013. Five of the six tallies for the Green and White came from players no longer on the roster.

SCOUTING THE BOBCATSAfter starting the season with a scoreless tie against St. Cloud State, Quinnipiac has won five straight games, outscoring opponents, 21-4. After taking the second game with the Huskies, the Bobcats swept weekends versus Penn State and Maine. Between the pipes, junior Chelsea Laden has started all six contests with a save percentage of .917 and a goals-against average of 0.52. The Lakeville, Minn., native has also turned aside 112 of the 115 shots she’s faced this year. Kelly Babstock and Emma Woods are tied for the team-lead with four goals.

LAST MEETING WITH QUINNIPIACDartmouth defeated Quinnipiac, 5-2, on Friday, Jan. 11, 2013. Ailish Forfar netted the eventual game winner for the Big Green in the second period while Holdcroft made 18 saves and picked up the win.

ALL-TIME RECORDSDartmouth is 10-4-2 all-time and under Hudak against Quinnipiac. The Big Green are 31-39-6 all-time versus Princeton, while posting a 12-6-2 mark under Hudak.